Soul - funk group, led by Bert DeCoteaux.

The original line-up comprised Donald McPherson (b. 9th July 1941, d. 4 July 1971), Luther Simmons Jnr. (b. 9th September 1942), and Tony Silvester (b. 7th October 1941, Panama, d. 26 November, 2006). They released their first singles as The Poets (11) (not to be confused with The Poets (4) who had released She Blew A Good Thing in 1966). From 1967 to 1970 they called themselves The Insiders (4). Later in 1970 they finally renamed into The Main Ingredient. Cuba Gooding replaced Donald McPherson in 1971, but left the band in 1978 for a solo career.